WORCESTER, Mass. - Despite a 10-kill effort from junior Emma Sweeting, the Mount Holyoke College volleyball team could not get past Clark University in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Thursday evening. With the win, the Cougars move to 6-6 with a 1-2 mark in conference play. The Lyons slip to 2-11 overall and 0-4 in the NEWMAC.

It was a close battle to open the match, which saw the visiting Lyons leading 5-4 in the first set after a bad set against the Cougars, but the tide turned as several errors against MHC and a pair of service aces by Marina Ramos made it a 12-8 lead. Four more points, including two aces from Mia Cattaneo pushed it to 17-9 Cougars' advantage, and the home team continued to gain momentum as three kills sealed the 25-13 set win.

The second set saw the Cougars jump out to a 9-2 lead, taking advantage of five Lyons' errors. A kill from senior Kaleen Iwema closed the gap to 14-7, but five straight points gave Clark as strong lead (19-7). An ace from Iwema and a kill from Sweeting was not enough as back-to-back kills from Shannon Glass-Smythe capped the 25-13 set two victory.

In the final set, the Lyons fought hard to push it into a fourth, as they battled back from a 22-13 deficit. Five kills by Sweeting during the span edged MHC closer making it a 24-21 score, but a kill from Savonnah Rowe sealed a 25-22 set win and match victory for the Cougars.

Leading Clark was Glass-Smythe, who recorded a match-best 12 kills with seven digs. Ramos and Rowe each added seven kills, while Cattaneo chipped in with 11 digs. Tori Whitney also notched 21 assists.

For the Lyons, Bland added five kills in addition to Sweeting's 10. Sophomore Natalie Lyon added 12 assists, while senior Susie Gardiner and Iwema each had a team-high seven digs.

Mount Holyoke returns to action on Saturday, hosting Wheaton at 1pm at the Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium. Clark is also in action on Saturday, facing Babson (11am) and Amherst (3pm).